1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disk cartridge holding an optical disk therein and to a cartridge system combined with an adapter cartridge for allowing the optical disk which is held in the disk cartridge to be fitted to a disk drive for driving another optical disk with a different diameter.
2. Discussion of the Background
In recent years, an optical disk, such as a magneto-optical recording type, phase change type and DVD, has been used as a large-capacity recording medium in place of a floppy disk. This type of optical disk is usually held in a case and used as a disk cartridge.
Further, as this type of disk cartridge, a type has been proposed in which, in order to increase the degree of freedom in usage, an optical disk is removed from the case and is used as a single unit.
Usually, the case of the disk cartridge is so formed as to have a flat rectangular shape and has a window section on each side to expose a portion of the optical disk and hub. A slidable shutter is provided on the case to allow the window section to be opened and closed. When the disk cartridge is loaded into an optical disk drive, the shutter is automatically opened to allow a drive-side optical head to perform information processing on the optical disk through the window section.
Currently a plurality of kinds of disks of different sizes, such as a 80 mm and a 120 mm disk, have been proposed as the optical disk. The disk cartridges holding an optical disk therein have different sizes. Therefore, even in the case of an optical disk drive, a plurality of kinds of disk drives fitted to the sizes of their disk cartridges have been proposed.
In this situation, there are different disk drives for different kinds of disk cartridges with different sizes. For this reason, it has been difficult to drive disk cartridges of different kind and size by a single disk drive and there arises a compatibility problem. In the case where, in particular, use is made of a disk cartridge with an optical disk of a smaller size held therein, its window section is narrower than a disk cartridge with an optical disk of a large size held therein and, for the case of a disk drive for a larger-size optical disk, difficulty has been encountered in insertion and in driving operation.
The present invention has been contrived in consideration of the above circumstances and its object is to provide a disk cartridge which can achieve a compatibility between disk-like recording media of different sizes and enlarge the range of use, and to provide a cartridge system having the disk cartridge.
In order to achieve the above object, a disk cartridge according to the present invention comprises a case holding a disk-like recording medium therein and having a window section through which a portion of the recording medium is exposed and an access opening via which the recording medium is inserted and withdrawn into and out of the case; a shutter slidably mounted on the case and adapted to open and close the window section; and a disk holder for opening and closing the access opening and detachably fitted to the case with the recording medium retained therein.
According to the disk cartridge of the present invention, the case has a pair of rectangular main walls opposite to each other and sidewalls formed along peripheral edges of the main walls, the access opening is formed continuously in the main walls and sidewalls, and the disk holder has a plate-like base section constituting a part of one of the main walls and capable of placing the recording medium thereon and an opposite section constituting a part of the other main wall, facing the base section at a predetermined distance and allowed to be contacted with the recording medium.
According to the disk cartridge thus structured, by detaching the disk holder from the case, it is possible to, through the disk holder, withdraw the optical disk out of the case and inserted into an associated case without directly touching the optical disk by fingers.
Further, a cartridge system according to the present invention comprises an adapter cartridge so formed as to have a size fitted to a disk-like recording medium of a first diameter, and a disk cartridge storing therein a disk-like recording medium of a second diameter smaller than the first diameter, wherein
the adapter cartridge comprises a case allowing the disk-like recording medium of the first diameter to be held therein and having a window section through which an interior is exposed and an access opening via which the recording medium is inserted and withdrawn into and out of the case,
a shutter slidably mounted on the case and adapted to open and close the window section, and
a lid member mounted on the case, for opening and closed the access opening.
The disk cartridge comprises a case storing therein the recording medium of the second diameter and having a window section through which a part of the recording medium is exposed and an access opening via which the recording medium is inserted and withdrawn into and out of the case,
a shutter slidably mounted on the case to open and close the widow section, and
a disk holder adapted to open and close the access opening and detachably fitted to the case with the recording medium retained therein, and
the adapter cartridge enables the recording medium and disk holder with the recording medium retained therein to be inserted into the case via the access opening of the case.
According to the cartridge system thus structured, the disk holder with the recording medium retained therein is withdrawn out of the case and, together with the recording medium, inserted into the adapter cartridge. By loading this adapter cartridge into a disk drive for driving the recording medium of the first diameter, it is possible to perform information processing on the recording medium of the second diameter with the use of this disk drive.